Celebrating six decades of his life on earth, clergyman and Acting Chief Operating Officer of Zenon Oil, Philip Akinola, has only one desire: to raise an army of Christians that will transform Nigeria, Vanessa Obioha writes
“This is the loveliest I have ever been celebrated,” said clergyman and Acting Chief Operating Officer of Zenon Oil, Philip Akinola, as a group of his colleagues came in with gifts on his 60th birthday. That was on March 9. From the expression on his face, it was evident that their presence and presents were unexpected. All he could mutter was “wow” and “thank you.”
Since he marked his birthday, Akinola has been inundated with gifts and goodwill messages. On March 12, he hosted friends, colleagues, family, and church members to an intimate celebration at the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) Peace Assembly parish in Victoria Island, Lagos.
The outpour of love for Zenon Oil COO, who heads the RCCG Potter’s House in Ebute Metta, was no different. One by one, friends, family and colleagues extolled him. They described him as a man of integrity, humility, dedication, hardworking and full of love for mankind.
Donning a blue attire and flanked by his wife, he was seen either nodding in agreement, smiling or laughing at what a speaker was saying. There were times he looked as if he was on the verge of tears, but the waterfalls were not flowing from a sorrowful source but one filled with happiness and gladness. It was no wonder that after the ceremony ended, Akinola danced as David danced to the melodious songs of the church’s choir.
As happy and contented Akinola appeared to be, it was unfathomable that he once was suicidal. When he confessed at the ceremony, not a few were stunned.
“It was the first time my siblings would hear about it,” he said.
The fifth child of his parents, Akinola recalled he was a sensitive and curious child. Although he was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth, he was well cared for. Therefore, he considered the suicidal thought as a ploy of the enemy to derail him from his purpose. However, a sermon changed his life.
“In church, I heard a song with the lyrics that Jesus loves little children like me. It sounded strange because all I could hear in my head was that I was unloved,” he recounted.
Today, Akinola uses his experience to draw people close to God.
“I believe that there is no life that God cannot change,” said Akinola. “We may have missed it in one way or the other, but then when we realise that we can get back on our feet and focus, desire a meaningful life, we will discover that you can always pick up.”
Born in a small village called Ilora in Oyo State, Akinola’s life is one full of God’s grace. He admitted that he wanted a better life than his parents offered. His father was a farmer, and his mother was a petty trader. He recalled that they couldn’t afford a radio or TV, but he was always curious about the children’s programme on the radio at the time and wished he was as privileged as them.
So when his older sister took him to Osun to continue his primary school education, Akinola did not miss the familiar environment of Ilora.
“There was the temptation to run back to my mother, but in Osun, I had friends that were more enlightened,” he noted.
The clergyman studied Sociology and Anthropology for his Bachelor’s degree and Industrial Sociology for his master’s. He got both degrees from the University of Ife (now known as Obafemi Awolowo University).
Today, Akinola has over 30 years of experience in human resources, consulting and management. He has consulted for companies such as Agrovog Limited, Parker Drilling Nigeria Ltd., and Forte Oil.
1984 is significant to Akinola in many ways. Apart from being the year, he gained admission into the university. It was the year he became born-again. As a student, he was committed to the vineyard of God under the Evangelical Christian Fellowship.
His faith did not waver when he graduated from the university and moved to Lagos. There, he was actively involved in the services of the New Realm Baptist Church, Ojo. Later, he joined RCCG in 2003. He has been with the church since then, serving in different capacities.
As a missionary, Akinola has been to many remote areas in the country, offering solace and the word of God. He reiterated that he deliberately chose to live a life of impact.
“I always tell my congregation that life is meaningless unless it is impacted. One area I have chosen to make an impact is sharing Christ with people and the dimension it could change their lives,” he explained.
He added that he believed so much in transformational ministry. This penchant for transformation led him to convene the Covenant Keepers Network (CKN), a group committed to righteousness, national development and social justice. The group kick-started the Congress on Christian Ethics in Nigeria (COCEN).
“It was during my consulting years in the 80s and 90s. Back then, you had to give bribes and all of that, and I was not into that. Unknown to me, some people were watching me in church,” said Akinola explaining the genesis of the network and the congress. “So when I was told about COCEN, I abandoned all that I was doing to join the campaign. We were so passionate about transforming the country.”
At first, COCEN was getting the right support as they spread through every nook and cranny of the country, raising men and women with Christian ethics and values. The mission was to raise an army of incorruptible leaders. Foundations such as the Rockefeller, Ford noticed them and threw their weight behind them.
“They saw that we were ready to cause a turnaround of events in the country,” he added. “I was moving all over the country, having meetings, and we were ready to start a mass grassroots mobilisation of people.”
One of the areas of concern for COCEN was how the custodians of Christendom had missed it.
“Commercialisation of the gospel was going on. For society, we had all the issues of examination practices, corruption in all the places and everything that you can talk about, and there are Christians there. And we were ready to say that we wanted to begin to hold ourselves accountable,” Akinola stressed. “And people that wanted to stand for the truth, we were ready to support them. We were to galvanise ourselves and have that strength to be able to see what can be done to pull down the monster called corruption.”
CKN was so influential at the time that it drew the attention of former Head of State Gen. Yakubu Gowon.
“It was through the group that he started Nigeria Prays because he started his own like that, and they were moving with us each time we had a rally,” he recalled.
The first COCEN was held in 1997 in Abuja and had about 2,000 delegates from all over the country, with international observers also in attendance. However, COCEN could not go as far as Akinola wanted because of the sanctions the United States placed in Nigeria at the time. With no grants coming in, Akinola found himself stranded. Again, his goodwill paved the way for him, and he bounced back to his feet.
While Akinola is active in his pastoral work, he is still concerned about the transformation of Nigeria. No one understands this better than the missionary Prof. Gary Maxey. In his message at the birthday celebration, Maxey stated that Akinola’s passion for Christian ethics in Nigeria has not subsided over the years.
“I am convinced that if Philip had the podium instead of me, he would be telling us that there has never been a time in the history of Nigeria when it was more important for us to individually and collectively arise and actively engage in facing down evil and corruption, in fighting bribery, examination malpractices and human trafficking, and in demanding justice and fairness in every nook and cranny of this country,” Maxey pointed out. “Philip does not believe — as many of us seem to — that the moral and ethical decadence around us is inevitable and beyond our control.”
Akinola affirmed that his assertion was right. “Christianity has been bastardised. And this happened because there was a shift in the message on the pulpit, which is all about prosperity without looking into the tenets of Christianity,” he further noted. “We judge people now by their affluence. So the church has a problem, society has a problem too.”
He argued that as much as there are many retreats, he cannot see any impact because people return to their old selves when they leave the praying ground.
The paramount thing for Akinola now is to galvanise as many people as people who are willing to stand for the truth and work towards the country’s transformation.
“Christians need to rise.
We cannot sit idle. Evil triumphs when good people sit down and do nothing,” he warned. “If we can have the right kind of Christians in political leadership, there will be transparency in governance. The goal is now for us to encourage them to begin influencing their spheres of life.”
